proper plane Axial wooden propeller (for Mercedes 160hp)

[James H]

Axial wooden propeller (for Mercedes 160hp)
Proper Plane
Catalogue # WP-001
Available from Proper Planefor $25.00

 

There are numerous things that can make the average modeller shy away from building a Great War aircraft. The first one that comes to mind is rigging. Another is simulating wood grain. Another, and one that has frustrated me in the past is making those plastic airscrews look like laminated timber. I eventually settled on a rather nice masking method that James Machin taught on the WNW Fans Facebook page. With some work, that creates a rather nice representation. Then there is the Laminated Propeller Mask from RB Productions. This is a little trickier, but when mastered, produces some very nice, organic effects. Ok, but these still only create a representation. So why not go the obvious route and actually use a wooden propeller? There are several companies on the market which make these, and they vary massively in price and cost. Some are very nice but expensive. Some are relatively poor, and still not cheap. Today, we introduce to you a company from the Ukraine, called Proper Plane, and an example of their own airscrew range.

This is the text from the Proper Plane website, specifically for this Axial:

Recommended for use on several German planes including WnW:  

• Halberstadt Cl.II (32049 D) 
• Albatros D.V/D.Va (32009 A B E / 32015 B E)
• Fokker D.VII (32011 AB / 32027 E / 32030 BE / 32031 ACDE)
• Junkers D.1 (32065 ABCD)
• Pfalz D.XII (32019 C)
• Pfalz D.IIIa (32006
• Roland C.II (32026 ABCDE / 32041 ABCD)

and other with Mercedes 160/180/200 HP engine.

Hand carved wooden propeller with resin boss. The propeller is made up of veneers of maple and pear and these are very delicate and look in scale. The balance is excellent as is the shape. The centre hub with eight bolts were modelled in 3D and cast specially for this propeller. The propeller diameter is 87 mm and matches the kit part from Wingnut Wings. It has a beautiful satin lacquer finish and is super smooth to the touch.

This cute little package was sent to me for fitting to a Junkers D.1 for a future magazine project, but it also really deserves to be shown in a review article. The airscrew itself is packaged into a very robust, clear acrylic tube that can’t be buckled or squashed. A label at one end denotes the type of prop within. In my case, this is an Axial, designed for the 160hp Mercedes engine (although I don’t doubt it will be compatible with other permutations of Mercedes etc.). My sample is production number #97. Each end of the tube has a small, laser-engraved wooden cap, showing the Proper Plane logo, and these are fastened to the tube by means of a felt disc glued to the underside, providing a snug fit to the tube and preventing the product from slipping out, and also protecting the tips of the delicate wooden airscrew. Inside the tube, another foam disc is used as a separator, keeping the resin prop hubs from rattling around again damaging the fine tips of the airscrew.

The airscrew itself is most certainly the best I have seen since we first started to see companies release these to the market. As per the real thing, this is produced from a number of laminates of alternating colours. In this case, there are EIGHT laminates involved in production, all with a suitably fine grain to them, and looking representative of the colours that we would expect. The overall finish is incredibly fine, with no grain being felt through the layers of varnish, and of course no pitting anywhere. The effect is glass-like. What really has to be mentioned are the incredibly fine edges and tips, again, smooth to the touch, and precise. In comparison with the kit plastic part, the shape looks perfect, and of course, a little more refined. For me, the colour of the airscrew is very, very nice, but you can of course shoot a little clear orange or yellow acrylic over this if you want a slightly warmer appearance.

Note that the hub areas have a series of small, partially drilled indents around their circumference, allowing the modeller to properly align the resin hub bolt details, both front and back. 

Those front and rear hubs as mentioned, are cast in a light grey resin, and both onto a small casting block. You will undoubtedly need a very fine razor saw and come care in removing these from the block. Casting itself is very nice, with sharp details. 

Conclusion
This is one of those simple upgrades that anyone can initiate, which will immediately enhance the appearance of your stick and string (and corrugated metal!) aircraft. It’s certainly an answer to the sometimes difficult to achieve woodgrain paint techniques, and for a product of this quality, the price is also very reasonable. Check out their website for more wooden airscrews for other WNW model kits.

My sincere thanks to Proper Plane for the sample seen in this article. To purchase directly, click the link in this article.

 

[Bomber_County]

Awesome James, wonder if they do a Camel........about to start my first WnW........

[James H]

They sure do   

https://properplane.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=54 

[Bomber_County]

Swwwwwweeeeeeeeettttttttttt, 

[Proper Plane]

Thank you @James H for your professional opinion!

[harv]

As always Jammes, excellent .......harv

.

[HubertB]

Although hand-carving your own wooden propeller from laminated veneer is not as dauting as it appears, these ones are really nice and, like all AM, make improving a kit so much easier than a home-made solution.

I, for one, am waiting for my order from Proper Plane. It’s a « package » for my Junkers D-1, with the prop shown here and a Rexx exhaust 

Hubert

[McCoy]

Marvelous!

[Drifter]

That is just brilliant. 

[cramsey]

Might they do one for a Felixstowe in 1:32?

[PhilM]

On 12/8/2018 at 10:17 PM, HubertB said:

Although hand-carving your own wooden propeller from laminated veneer is not as dauting as it appears, these ones are really nice and, like all AM, make improving a kit so much easier than a home-made solution.

I, for one, am waiting for my order from Proper Plane. It’s a « package » for my Junkers D-1, with the prop shown here and a Rexx exhaust 

Hubert

Me too: after James' clear and helpful review (thanks: great pictures!) I've ordered the same set for my D-1.

 

I have "only" two other WNW in my stash: a Camel and a Fokker D.VII, and if the items are as good "in the flesh" when they arrive as they look in these pictures then I'll probably add those also.

[PhilM]

On 1/3/2019 at 12:31 PM, PhilM said:

Me too: after James' clear and helpful review (thanks: great pictures!) I've ordered the same set for my D-1.

 

I have "only" two other WNW in my stash: a Camel and a Fokker D.VII, and if the items are as good "in the flesh" when they arrive as they look in these pictures then I'll probably add those also.

I placed my ("In stock") online order, as above, on 2 January: a few words of caution:

I received an immediate automated email response confirming my order: but as of today, 10 January, it is still shown as "processing" ...

Not THAT long a "delay"; but what else has also happened in the few days immediately following the order is a hacking / compromising of my card details, with two attempted uses of it for fraudulent transactions (one £0.26p "test", and a £1,300 substantive fraudulent purchase attempt). I did confirm to the card company then that the Proper Plane / Liquipay (?) transaction was genuine, and AFAIK this payment was made before the fraud problem.

My card company had already declined the above two transactions before contacting me, so I have not lost out financially: but I do have the hassle of changing the card, and notifying various companies of the new number, etc. etc.

I have absolutely no evidence that this is anything to do directly with Proper Plane: I assume that they never see my card details in handing off the payment process to Liquipay.

I have never before heard of Liquipay before: no evidence about them either ...

But the timing coincidence (and the use of the card details in Germany, when I reside in the UK ...) makes me concerned about this specific "foreign" transaction.

I keep the card (with a low credit limit, in case of occasions such as this: a total loss to me of up to the card limit would be a pain in the wallet, but not a financial disaster) almost entirely for online use, with a limited number of businesses that I use regularly, with no previous problems.

This first "off piste" use via Liquipay and the fraudulent activity are timed neatly together?

But I may of course be adding 2 + 2 and getting 5 ...

My aim isn't to put people off buying from Proper Plane, but I felt an alert was justified in the circumstances.

 

[Proper Plane]

45 minutes ago, PhilM said:

I placed my ("In stock") online order, as above, on 2 January: a few words of caution:

I received an immediate automated email response confirming my order: but as of today, 10 January, it is still shown as "processing" ...

Not THAT long a "delay"; but what else has also happened in the few days immediately following the order is a hacking / compromising of my card details, with two attempted uses of it for fraudulent transactions (one £0.26p "test", and a £1,300 substantive fraudulent purchase attempt). I did confirm to the card company then that the Proper Plane / Liquipay (?) transaction was genuine, and AFAIK this payment was made before the fraud problem.

My card company had already declined the above two transactions before contacting me, so I have not lost out financially: but I do have the hassle of changing the card, and notifying various companies of the new number, etc. etc.

Hi Phil!
I am very concerned about the current payment situation. I actually received the order #448 on January 2, as well as payment. As noted in the "Producing terms", which you could read before payment, usually we produce the sets you have ordered in 4-5 weeks. If this term changes we inform you as soon as it possible.
Your propeller is already being in produces and will be sent to you in a few weeks.

As for LiqPay, it is the largest Ukrainian payment system with an excellent reputation. For all the time I have not had any comments either from clients or from my side.

I will definitely inform them about the hacking attempt, so that they take the necessary measures.

It is unfortunate that you did not report the problem directly to me, so that I could solve it more quickly.

UPD: LiqPay just informed me that there was no any requests in the those days, especially for such an amount. They recommend to submit an application to the cardholder bank and Police.

 

Sincerely, Alexey Belov
Proper Plane

Edited January 10, 2019 by Proper Plane
UPD

[PhilM]

1 hour ago, Proper Plane said:

Hi Phil!
I am very concerned about the current payment situation. I actually received the order #448 on January 2, as well as payment. As noted in the "Producing terms", which you could read before payment, usually we produce the sets you have ordered in 4-5 weeks. If this term changes we inform you as soon as it possible.
Your propeller is already being in produces and will be sent to you in a few weeks.

As for LiqPay, it is the largest Ukrainian payment system with an excellent reputation. For all the time I have not had any comments either from clients or from my side.

I will definitely inform them about the hacking attempt, so that they take the necessary measures.

It is unfortunate that you did not report the problem directly to me, so that I could solve it more quickly.

UPD: LiqPay just informed me that there was no any requests in the those days, especially for such an amount. They recommend to submit an application to the cardholder bank and Police.

 

Sincerely, Alexey Belov
Proper Plane

The timing, and a wait for the items, isn't a big deal, and your site does refer to a 4-5 week production period; but the item in question said - and still does say - "in stock".

I would have ordered one anyway even with the 4-5 week wait: but to me, in stock means in stock, i.e. you had taken the decision to advance manufacture some, and they are already available.

IMO, the items should not say in stock if they are not ...

As for Liquipay's response that you quote above: I do appreciate your concern, and taking this up with them: but even if (IF ...) this breach is anything to do with their systems, they would not be involved in any later fraudulent use of the card details, and would know nothing about it. The contact would then be between the finance provider (which could be anyone / anywhere) to the online store to which the fraudulent order was made when they request the payment,  and my card provider to make the payment, who as I say declined the transaction anyway.

I'm still looking forward to receiving the prop and pipe set: hopefully it will kick start my build of the D-1!

[Proper Plane]

8 hours ago, PhilM said:

The timing, and a wait for the items, isn't a big deal, and your site does refer to a 4-5 week production period; but the item in question said - and still does say - "in stock".

I would have ordered one anyway even with the 4-5 week wait: but to me, in stock means in stock, i.e. you had taken the decision to advance manufacture some, and they are already available.

Dear Phil!

Thank you for your comment. Despite the fact that for a long time this status did not cause any complaints, I decided to clarify it in order to avoid further misunderstandings and replace “in stock” to “pre-order”. As I said, each propeller is handmaded  by the individual order of each client and it takes time.

As for the attempt to hack your card, I have nothing to add except that I am ready to provide any necessary information that will be needed to clarify this situation.

In order to finally resolve this problem, I will try to prepare and send your order ASAP so that you can start building your Junkers D1

Sincerely, Alexey Belov
Proper Plane

[PhilM]

On 1/3/2019 at 12:31 PM, PhilM said:

Me too: after James' clear and helpful review (thanks: great pictures!) I've ordered the same set for my D-1.

 

I have "only" two other WNW in my stash: a Camel and a Fokker D.VII, and if the items are as good "in the flesh" when they arrive as they look in these pictures then I'll probably add those also.

My set has now arrived: if anything, the pictures in James' review don't do it full justice, the prop (and pipe, in my set ...) look superb "in the flesh", and all arrived presented and packaged very well indeed. A great product, and I can recommend them if you have the slightest need for any of the varieties of prop offered.

Thanks to ProperPlane for a great product and great service!

 

 

 

[Proper Plane]

Thank you Philip!

 

[fmatthews]

I am new to 1/32 WW1 a/c (I built 1/32 WW2 a/c as a kid and for a couple of years when I returned to modeling in 1990), but as a lifelong fan of these early planes, have recently picked up some WW kits.  

I purchased a beautiful Rexx exhaust that arrived today and found the Proper Plane site while looking for an Albatros exhaust. Your props look amazing and I’m ordering a set as soon as I get home!